Calming the Fires
Rune was sitting in an armchair in her house, enjoying a well-needed day of peace and rest. No monsters had shown up to terrorize any quipps, the weather in her area was very fair, and all seemed to be well. However, in spite of the day's tranquility, Rune was not at ease. In front of her was a table with a burning candle in a glass holder upon it. She stared intensely at the flame, and although she could control the fire to do whatever she wished, she just allowed it to burn naturally. "I hate him," she thought. The flame on the candle continued to stretch and shrink naturally as she stared at it. "I can't stand even seeing his face..." Her stomach clenched slightly in anger as she thought his name. "Omega..." Rune knew very well that a great number of people would sympathize with Omega, and probably already did. It was true, the quipps were rotten to the core. For most people, this fact would make it quite difficult for them to protect the quipps from Omega. Many of them would frequently grapple with the temptation to join Omega, as they could understand his side of things quite well. But not Rune. She didn't care how mean-spirited the quipps were, she felt that subjecting them to slavery was an atrocious action. She'd told him before, and genuinely meant it, she didn't care how cruel some people were, she couldn't stand to see anyone suffer that much. She felt there was a definite limit to how far punishment should go, and enslavement was completely off the charts. Many people back on Earth understood Omega's position and sympathized with him. But Rune was quite different. She felt nothing but contempt for him. Rune sighed and leaned back in the chair. "But I've already acknowledged all of that.....so.....why do I feel unhappy?" she thought. "I don't understand it at all." Without moving, she extinguished the candle's flame with her powers. Then, she stood up and went outside, hoping that some fresh air would help her think. She walked along the sidewalk of the calm suburb she lived in, and eventually, came to a forest not too far from her house. She entered the woods, wanting to be alone. She summoned her fire sword, resting the blade on her shoulder and gripping the hilt tightly to help ease her aggression. Normally, on a day like this, when Omega wasn't active, Rune would be out having fun, enjoying it. But today, she was upset and angry, and she didn't fully understand why. She supposed it was connected to Omega's actions last week, where he'd held over twenty quipps hostage in a massive energy sphere that hung over a large city. He, then, explained to her that, in return for their safety, she had to stay out of his way all day. He, then, went on to demolish a great deal of property, instilling fear into the quipps and "showing them the power of their future leader," as Omega put it, hoping it would quell any ideas they had of rebellion once he enslaved them. Rune was forced to standby, completely helpless to stop him, until, finally, she comprised a plan to free the hostages, and did so. No one was harmed, but the destruction was massive. Naturally, she was furious with Omega after this display. Being forced to stand by and watch people suffer was unbearable. She tried to think about the terrible things the quipps typically did, all to try to make the chaos seem at least slightly justified. But no matter how hard she tried, seeing the quipps suffer to this degree was causing her to weep inside. This was something that Omega never seemed to understand. It angered her that everyone could understand Omega, but no one tried to understand her. After that mayhem had subsided, Rune went home that night and watched a "superhero" show she viewed on occassions. And in the show, one of the characters stated, "It's going to be hard....protecting people who seem to deserve what's coming to them. Protecting them from being conquered by Tywin Empire.....protecting people who hate us....but it's the burden we must bear." Rune shut the television off and angrily threw a nearby book at the television screen. "What do you want then?!" she shouted, enraged. "Would you prefer they be enslaved?! Fuck that and fuck you!!" She stood glaring at the television set, seething. Then, slowly, tears began to stream from her eyes, and, eventually, she fell to her knees, sobbing, her arms covering her face. Rune shook her head, pulling herself out of her memories. She trudged on through the forest, no real destination in mind. The main room of the lair was brightly lit, and Omega was watching television, drumming his fingers on the desk in front of him. "What should my next world domination plan be? Rune's a really sharp one....she's foiled every one of my ideas thus far....I need to think of something especially crafty....maybe something she won't expect..." Suddenly, a cold chill came over Omega, and he shivered slightly. It felt as though his body temperature had dropped, but the room was perfectly warm. No fans or air conditioners were on, as it was only the beginning of spring, and still slightly chilly outside. The chill subsided, and Omega felt fine again. He lightly scratched his forehead with his right hand, bewildered, staring at his left arm, which had been covered in goosebumps not long ago. "What on earth was that...?" he thought. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head, unable to identify what had caused the sudden chill, and went back to watching television. The quiet chirping of the birds in the trees soothed Rune to an extent. The forest was very peaceful and serene. However, whenever her mind returned to thoughts of Omega, her tranquility was shattered. "Why do I keep thinking about him?" she thought. She pondered this question for a while, then, thought, "Maybe.....I think something has to be done about him..." As she neared a pond, she stopped and gazed at the water's surface. "Maybe my hatred of him has reached a peak. Should I....kill him?" She thought about this for a while, then, shook her head and thought, "No....I....I couldn't......but why? I'm burning with rage, but....." She sighed, and her shoulders slumped. "Something just doesn't feel right...." She walked closer to the pond and looked down into her reflection. "Does hating Omega really make me unhappy? Why?" Later that day, Rune returned home and tried to relax by watching some television. There was a story on the news about a man from Earth that would be travelling to Belladore to visit. The man was a fairly tall African American with dark sunglasses on, and a specialized cane, indicating that the man was blind. "Huh....visiting Belladore?" Rune thought. "Why? So he can catch a glimpse of the heartless bastard known as Omega?" Rune sighed. "I hope he brings some form of protection. Belladore's practically a warzone. Well....at least I know Omega won't hurt him, so that's good." The story went on to explain that the man would be traveling in the very same high technology space pod that Rune and Omega had traveled to Belladore in. "Hope they made those pods a little bigger," Rune thought. "I was a little claustrophobic in mine on the way to Belladore. Good thing I had my DVD player, and could distract myself with movies. All in all, it wasn't a bad trip, though..." Removing her gaze from the television, she looked up at one of the windows and saw that the sky had gotten quite dark. Her eyes widened in surprise; she hadn't realized how much time had passed since she'd started watching the news. She knew that, on Earth, in some areas it could get significantly darker in a short amount of time, but Belladore seemed to be even worse in this regard. It appeared to do this almost all over the planet. Rune stood up and stretched, exhausted after a long day of venting her frustrations. She decided it was time to retire for the evening. She woke up the next morning feeling well-rested and almost euphoric. She'd known for a long time that venting anger and frustration was excellent for one's health, and it was always nice to feel the benefits first hand. Meanwhile, Omega was also rising for the day. He'd also heard the news last night that a man from Earth was coming to visit Belladore. Like Rune, Omega was equally curious as to why this man wanted to visit Belladore. "All he's going to find here is a race full of disgusting, rotten insects..." he thought. "Perhaps Rune and I should protect him while he's here..." Rune walked outside and looked around for any of Omega's monster minions. The previous day had been quiet and peaceful, but Omega never remained inactive for long. "I wonder when that guy from Earth is going to arrive here..." she thought. "And where on Belladore will he be landing?" When Rune first came to Belladore, her space pod had landed a fair distance away from any cities or towns. Belladore didn't have any space pods of its own, let alone an official place for them to land. They did have their own space programs, and were very aware of the existence of Earth, even without Rune and Omega's presence. However, they weren't as advanced as humanity. It was true, the quipps had a lot of flaws. After not seeing any monsters or receiving any alerts from the quipp news networks, Rune assumed that the day might just be another peaceful one. She turned around and began to walk back home when, suddenly, her cell phone rang. She answered it, "Hello?" A raspy, somewhat quiet voice answered, "Rune?" Rune raised an eyebrow. "Who is this?" "It's me. Omega." Rune tensed up. "What do you want?" she asked heatedly. "I'm sorry....I didn't know who else to call....Rune....something's really wrong....I need-" he began to cough violently, then, gasped for air. "Hospital...." Rune heard a loud thud on the other line, and her eyes widened in shock. "Omega?! Omega are you there?!" However, there was no answer. Rune lowered her phone, her pulse racing. Within minutes, Rune was at Omega's lair. She burst in to find Omega unconscious on the floor of the main room. "Omega!" she shouted, running over to him. "What happened?!" Rune shook him, trying to bring him around, but he wouldn't awaken. "No..." she choked out. Rune sat in the chair at Omega's bedside in his hospital room. She'd taken him to Earth in a space pod, figuring no medical facility on Belladore would take him in. "I wonder what's wrong with him..." she thought. Then, a physician walked in with a grim expression, looked to Rune, and said, "Rune....there's no easy way to say this....I'm very sorry, but....it seems Omega is dying." Rune sprang out of her chair, a look of utter shock plastered on her face. "Dying?! How?! From what?!" The physician looked at a chart he was holding, and said, "It looks like he's contracted a very rare illness from Belladore. We're not sure what it's called, but it's claimed the lives of many quipps. I'd say Omega has only two days to live." "Two days...?" Rune looked over to Omega with sadness. "Is there anything that can be done?" "Well..." the physician replied. "There are special plants that grow only on Belladore. We would have to collect all of them, mix them together, and give him the concoction. But there are a lot of plants needed, and we have little time." Rune looked to the doctor with determination gleaming in her eyes. "Give me a list of the plants we need." Within the hour, Rune was headed back to Belladore in the space pod with the list of herbs needed for the remedy. The doctor's last words to her before she left the room haunted her: "He will be in terrible pain at times that we won't be able to treat. This illness is alien, and our medicine won't have any affect. Only the remedy can stop the pain....and save his life." "Terrible pain..." Rune thought. "I'd better hurry." Category:Short Stories Category:Hero Forever Category:Mature